Eminem sues New Zealand political party for using song without permission

Eminem is suing New Zealand's ruling political party after they used one of his songs for an ad campaign.

The US rapper is not happy they used his hit Lose Yourself without asking his permission.

But lawyers for the National Party argue it was actually a track called Eminem-esque which they bought from a stock music library.

Both sides are now embroiled in a copyright case which is being heard over the next six days.

Eminem's legal team said it was "utterly clear" the party knew it was using a copyrighted song.

In 2014 when the case was filed, the party's lawyer Steven Joyce said he thought the use of the song was "pretty legal".

He added Eminem's team "are just having a crack and a bit of an eye for the main chance because it's an election campaign".

Outside court, Joel Martin, a spokesman for Eminem's music publishers, said he was surprised the two sides had not reached a settlement before the case began.

"The bottom line is we would never have permitted the use of the song in any political advertisement," he said.

He said the political views of the National Party were not a factor: "We are Americans and we don't know about politics in New Zealand," he said.